PUBERTY
by EvilAngelfish
Summary: Sooner or later, everyone learns the difference between boys and girls. ...hiatus...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own any copyrights, characters or 2x4 technology. Heck, I'm a grown-up! Well, I'm supposed to be anyway…

operation P.U.B.E.R.T.Y.

Purely

Unexpected

Blood

Evidently

Ruins

Twelfth

Year

writing operative

e.a. fish

The tree house was still and quiet in the 1:52 darkness of an early Saturday morning. What Numbuh 5 was doing up in the middle of the night Kuki Sanban, otherwise known as Numbuh 3 of the Kids Next Door, couldn't begin to guess but as she watched her friend swing her legs over the edge of the bed from the doorway, she knew she had to find out. "Couldn't sleep?" she said with a smile. Numbuh 5 started in surprise. Kuki stepped into the dark room. "Me neither. I was up to get some juice…want some?" For a long moment, Numbuh 5 was quiet. Not that she wasn't normally quiet but there was something weird about this silence, something that made Kuki extra careful. She approached Numbuh 5's bed and sat down. "Hey, are you okay?"

Numbuh 5 was staring down at her knees. The light coming in from the corridor streaked across her smooth brown cheek and Kuki thought she could see a stripe of moisture…the path of a fallen tear? Kuki suddenly felt very cold. She'd never seen Numbuh 5 cry.

"Kuki?"

Kuki blinked, startled by Numbuh 5's sudden soft utterance. It was odd hearing her first name from Numbuh 5's lips. Here in the tree house, she was always 'Numbuh 3'. "Yes?" she spoke softly.

"Do you know where, uh…where we keep the spare sheets?"

Kuki sighed. "Numbuh 5, did you…did you wet the bed?" She'd heard this kind of thing whispered about at school. They said that Muffy Jenkins had had occasional accidents until the beginning of the fourth grade. There was even a rumor that the reason Numbuh 86, battleaxe of the Moon Base, had never been to any sleepovers was because she wet the bed whenever she slept away from home. And she was twelve too, just like Numbuh 5. "It's okay. We had a really crazy mission today and Numbuh 4's birthday is tomorrow and…just all this fun exciting stuff…maybe your bladder got a little excited too." She put her arm around Numbuh 5's shoulder.

"Numbuh 5 didn't wet the bed."

Kuki felt a little chilled by Numbuh 5's tone but she just hugged her. "Don't worry. I promise I won't say anything about it to anybody." 

"No, you don't…never mind. Just forget about it. Why don't you go back to bed?" Numbuh 5 pushed off the bed and stood, barely giving Kuki enough time to get up before she yanked the sheet from her bed. Kuki wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a dark stain on the sheet as Numbuh 5 dragged it behind her into the hallway.


	2. The Definition of Crud

Author's note – Thanks for the kind reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the prologue. You'll have to read to find out who the pairings are but I'm sure one will soon be fairly obvious. Let me know what you think of Chapter One :)

* * *

At a more decent sunny hour of the morning, Wallabee Beetles, Numbuh Four of the Kids Next Door, was grinning in the kitchen. "Duh nuh nuh nuh! Gonna have some cake! Duh nuh nuh nuh! Gonna get some toys! Birthdays rule!" Numbuh Four bobbed his head up and down in a head-banging motion, his thick blond hair spilling into his eyes.

"Numbuh Five doesn't know what you're so happy about."

Wally's head jerked up and he saw Numbuh Five stalk into the kitchen.

"Don't you know the clock is just ticking?" Numbuh Five passed through the room without another word.

"Geez, what's her problem," Wally wondered aloud. It was kind of late for her to be in a snit about turning twelve. Her birthday was like, three weeks ago and she'd seemed fine then. Why would she be in a bad mood on his birthday? Numbuh Four shrugged and continued his heavy metal chant. "Duh nuh nuh nuh! Prob'ly get some cash! Duh nuh nuh nuh…"

* * *

By noon, all of the operatives of sector V were assembled in the treehouse's spacious common room. Numbuh Four smiled at his friends in their silly orange conical hats. The entire level had been decorated in orange streamers and balloons. There was a glistening frosted cake surrounded by Numbuh Four's favorite foods; cheeseburgers, cheese fries and nachos and there were cans of Dolt cola stacked in front of the television. Numbuh One was standing in front of the vast screen of the communications console. Uh oh, he was clearing his throat. Numbuh Four's smile slipped as Numbuh One beckoned him to stand beside him. Crud. A speech.

"…and as your leader, it is my pleasure to be the first to wish you a happy twelfth birthday. The Kids Next Door don't usually celebrate twelves but I think that because it is your last year, we should make it the best ever!"

"Here here!" said Numbuh Two. "Can we get to the cake now?"

"Well…" said Numbuh One, looking from Hoagie's face to Wally's, "Okay."

The team gathered around as Numbuh Four took a deep breath and blew out his candles, extinguishing them all in one mighty huff. He beamed as his teammates applauded.

"What'd you wish for, Numbuh Four?" Numbuh Two elbowed him in the side. "A roll of quarters?"

"Aw, shut up," Wally said, darting a quick glance at Numbuh Three.

"Yay! Let's open your presents!" Numbuh Three bounded over to the pile of gifts stacked next to the couch. She picked up a large box. "Open mine first!"

Wally approached the smiling girl. There was a brief moment out of time when his fingers brushed hers as he took the present from her hands. He quickly snatched away the frilly bow and tore into the rainbow-colored wrapping paper. He crumpled it, tossed it aside and opened the box. "Wow, this is…" Numbuh Three's gift to Wally was a Mega Ultra Fighters Jump Pack and Secret Code guide.

"Do you like it?" Number Three was bouncing beside him. "I thought maybe you might be able to beat me one day if you had this."

Wally dropped the box and wrapped his friend in a hug. "Wow, Kuki…thanks."

Numbuh Three giggled and returned the embrace. God, thought Numbuh Four. Her hair smells so good. The sound of laughter brought him back to himself. He heard Numbuh Two's muffled snickering and dropped his arms as if Numbuh Three were molten and he'd burned his fingers. Aw crud, he thought. Did she notice?

"Why don't you open this present next?" Numbuh One held out a lumpy package wrapped in dark cellophane. "I figured these might come in handy."

Wally took the gift and ripped away the wrapping to reveal a pair of red leather boxing gloves. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "All right! Whose gift is next?"

"How about this pretty Rainbow Monkeys card?" Numbuh Three held up a greeting card. "Ooh, maybe there's money inside! Let's see. 'To Wallabee,'" she began to read aloud, "' Happy Birthday from Fanny--'"

"It's from Numbuh 86!" Numbuh Two chortled. "Numbuh 86 sent you a birthday card!"

"Gimme that!" Wally snatched the card away from Numbuh Three and tried to hit Numbuh Two with it. "All right then. Where's my present from you? Cough it up."

"But don't you want to read Numbuh 86's message? Maybe it's an invite to her next slumber party!" Numbuh Two dodged Wally's foot, shaking with laughter. He held his stomach and guffawed while Wally stood over him, scowling. "Okay, okay." Numbuh Two ran out of the room and dashed back in holding a thin, foil-wrapped present.

"That isn't…it's not…" Wally stammered.

"Yup. Yipper number 12, first edition signed chrome cover variant."

"Cool!" He grinned. "Thanks!"

Numbuh Three looked puzzled. "Aren't you going to open it?"

All three boys gave Numbuh Three incredulous looks. Wally smacked his forehead. "Geez, Numbuh Three. Sometimes I forget you're a girl. You're not supposed to even touch a comic this valuable."

"Well, excuse me." She plopped down on the couch and folded her arms.

"Hey, there's one more left." Numbuh Two picked up the last of the gifts and handed it to Numbuh Four.

"Who's it from?"

"It must be Numbuh Five's gift; it's the last one," Numbuh One observed.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Wally looked around and for the first time, realized that Numbuh Five wasn't in the room. Had she slipped out during Numbuh One's speech? Or had she been gone the whole time? "Crud, it's heavy. It's gotta be something good." Numbuh Four eagerly tore away fistfuls of the wrapping paper. His mouth dropped open. "I can't believe…a cruddy…what is this, a joke?" His teammates gathered around him. Numbuh Five's present to Numbuh Four was a brand new American Heritage Dictionary.

"Ummm…let's eat the cake!" Numbuh Three cast an urgent glance at the other two boys behind Numbuh Four's head. But while Numbuh Two sliced the cake into fifths and Numbuh Three gently pried the dictionary from Numbuh Four's clenched hands, Numbuh One quietly left the common room. He stepped into the lift and pressed 25, the level on which he thought he'd find her.

* * *

Numbuh Five wasn't listening to music, even though she had a huge pair of headphones covering her ears. Which is why she heard the faint "bing' of the elevator when it opened at the end of the hall. She heard the footsteps approaching. She heard Numbuh One clear his throat. But she didn't turn to face him.

"I suppose it was kind of funny to get Numbuh Four a dictionary," said Number One, his voice dry.

"Numbuh Five is sure he thought so too, right?" She almost smiled. "Tell the brainiac that he might try actually opening a book for once--" she stopped. Why was she being so mean?

If Numbuh One had noticed the venom that had slipped into her voice, he didn't feel the need to comment upon it. Instead, he said, "There's a piece of cake waiting for you downstairs."

"So the party's over?"

"Numbuh Four's done with the gifts."

"Good. Figured I'd wait 'til it was over to go. Wouldn't want to leave in the middle of Numbuh Four's birthday."

Numbuh One let silence be his reply for the moment. Numbuh Five thought he was considering what to say. He always chose his words carefully. Finally, he spoke. "Do you have some place to be?"

Numbuh Five swallowed." No. The team. Numbuh Five is gonna leave the team."

transmission interrupted


	3. Can You Beat Two Pair?

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews! Updates may be a bit less frequent this month (nanowrimo) but I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Tell me what you think!

* * *

connection re-established

Nigel Uno didn't consider himself easily fazed. When Numbuh Five declared her desire to leave the team, he didn't blink. He regarded her for a moment. Then, he said, in his usual sarcastic way, "You're joking."

Numbuh Five shook her head.

"You must be," Nigel continued, "if you can't even look me in the eye when you say it." Numbuh Five did look at him then. He went on. "Furthermore, you can't just leave. I haven't given you my permission."

"Numbuh Five didn't ask for your permission," the girl snapped.

"Take off the headphones, Numbuh Five. Obviously, you aren't hearing me."

Numbuh Five reached up and slowly removed the headphones from her ears. The whole time her hands were moving, she was glaring at Numbuh One. He felt her eyes boring right into his. They were dark and angry.

"In case you've forgotten, this is a team and I am its leader. You have a responsibility to this team and above all, to _me_." Nigel thought he saw her flinch. He stifled a sigh. He knew he could be really hard on Numbuh Five but she was his second. She _had_ to be able to take his harshness. She'd never taken exception to it before. He cleared his throat, which felt suddenly scratchy, and continued. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you today but it's certainly no reason to walk out on your obligation. Why don't you go out for a few hours, take a break? I'll tell everyone you weren't feeling well." He thought she'd appreciate the respite from duty but as Numbuh Five shoved her way past him in sullen silence, he wondered if maybe he might've handled the situation better…

Nigel walked down the corridor back to the main elevator. He pressed the down triangle and when the lift reached level twenty-five, he walked inside, pushed another button and sagged against the back wall of the box. His eyes went to the ceiling as the elevator began its gentle drop. He was saying the wrong thing a whole lot lately. Nigel thought he'd seen Numbuh Four grimacing during his speech earlier and it seemed that recently, every time he was around Lizzie, his foot was lodged in his mouth. He imagined he could taste the rubber soles of his boots on his tongue. The strangest thing was that making Lizzie upset didn't bother him nearly as much as not being able to say the right thing. Weren't all the best leaders great orators as well? The elevator reached the main level and Nigel stepped out and walked back to the common room. The rest of the team was still eating cake.

"Where's Numbuh Five?" Numbuh Two said around a mouthful of butterscotch icing.

"She's not feeling well so I told her to get some rest."

"Anything I can do to help?" Numbuh Three perked up.

"I…don't think this calls for your assistance. I'm sure she'll be fine." He wasn't, though. Nigel couldn't help but feeling that maybe he'd gone too far…No, he'd worry about it later. He cleared his throat. "Numbuh Two, I have a matter that I must discuss with you…"

* * *

Numbuh Five wasn't feeling well. Even though Numbuh One had "given her permission" to go out and take a break, she didn't feel like setting foot outside of the tree house. She didn't want to see the sun. Her stomach hurt, she felt inexplicably cranky and every other minute, her eyes threatened to spill over with tears. She though about the team's mission, how the battle against adults never seemed to end, and she wanted to bawl. She thought about Joaquin and the other hamsters that powered the tree house, running and running, every hour of the day, running to nowhere. It made her want to sob. She thought of decommissioning. She felt cold and alone. And the worst thing was, this wasn't her! Numbuh Five didn't usually think about stuff like this. She didn't cry about hamsters. Numbuh Five never cried. It was as if some alien was holding her captive inside her own body and forcing her to watch as it did everything the wrong way. Everything she said was wrong. Everything she thought was…

There was a tap at her door. Numbuh Five tossed aside the pillow she'd been clutching and rolled over onto her stomach. "Yeah?" she called to the door.

"Hey, Numbuh Five." Numbuh Two pushed the door in with one hand. There was a saucer of cake balanced on his other palm. "Numbuh One said you were sleeping but I thought you might like a mid-nap snack." He chuckled a bit at his joke and waited for Numbuh Five to tell him how lame he was.

"Thanks, but Numbuh Five's not hungry."

Numbuh Two looked concerned for a moment but then he smiled. "I'll leave it in here anyway. Temptation, you know?" He set the plate on top of a stack of CDs on the nightstand next to Numbuh Five's bed. "Anyway, I hope you feel better. The tree house'll be pretty quiet in a while anyway so you can get some rest."

Numbuh Five sat up. "Mission?"

Numbuh Two shook his head. "Nope. Numbuh Three's gonna go with Numbuh Four to the arcade. Good present, by the way." He paused to snicker. "The look on Numbuh Four's face…" Numbuh Two stopped laughing when he noticed Numbuh Five's impassive face. "Yeah…and me and Numbuh One have this thing tonight so I have to pick up Numbuh 78--"

"Oh, don't tell me Numbuh One's into that stupid game too. What, is there a Yipper card convention tonight? Do the nerds get points for bringing new converts?" Inwardly, Numbuh Five winced. Why did she keep saying these things?

She'd hurt his feelings. Numbuh Two's head was bowed and he was locking and unlocking his fingers. Numbuh Five opened her mouth to apologize when he spoke.

"It's not…not Number 78, it's _Numbuh_ 78…I mean, Angelie…we're supposed to be getting together with Numbuh One and Lizzie for…you know, for a thing."

Numbuh Five gaped at Numbuh Two as he blushed crimson.

"Well, yeah, so….it'll be quiet in the tree house. Enjoy the cake." Numbuh Two practically ran from the room.

Numbuh Five was in shock. Numbuh Two…had a date. She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

transmission interrupted


	4. The Simple Things

Author's Notes: Jasikaermine, thanks for the tip about Numbuh 78's name. Guess I must've missed it in U.N.C.O.O.L.  
I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! I gave up on NaNoWriMo but I'll put up two chapters of the story this week. Please read and review!

* * *

connection re-established

"You've already seen mine. Now, it's your turn." They were sitting in the grass near the tire swing suspended from the big maple tree in Numbuh 78's front yard. "Please, Hoagie?" She blinked her big brown eyes at Numbuh Two. "Show me your deck."

"Well…okay." Numbuh Two dug a sweaty palm into one of his pockets, shuffled aside a few slices of Swiss and grabbed the container that held his pack of Yipper cards. With a nervous laugh, he handed them to Numbuh 78. He couldn't suppress a proud smile as she shuffled through the cards and nodded appraisingly. Numbuh 78 was a card collector herself so Numbuh Two knew she would appreciate some of his rarer finds.

"Nice. Really impressive." She grinned.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking you could crush my squadron with your deck. But it's not just what cards you have. It's how you use them."

"Is that right?"

"Yup. It's all about strategy."

Numbuh 78's smile was dazzling and, as Numbuh Two realized, wildly contagious. As he sat beside her, he knew that if any of his teammates could see the grin looping around his face they wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Good thing Numbuh One had decided to meet him back at the base.

"Speaking of strategy, I was wondering, what do you think would be the best strategy for persuading you to trade #13?"

"Oh, I don't know…#13's a really ultra rare card…but maybe I can think of something."

Numbuh 78 handed the deck of cards back to Numbuh Two. "Thanks for the movie, Hoagie. And the taffy apple. And the popcorn too. I'll have to remember to get cheese popcorn the next time I go."

"Maybe I could remind you."

"Maybe you could." She winked at him. "Goodnight, Hoagie."

"'Night." Numbuh Two sighed.

* * *

They walked down the street in silence. Numbuh One had the all-too-familiar taste of dirt in his mouth. Lizzie's arms were folded in front of her. She didn't even want to hold hands.

"You told me we were going to have this romantical evening and then you bring your friends along, and then, you're a zombie all evening—what was the movie _about_, Nigel? Were you even paying attention?

He hadn't been. Numbuh One didn't want Lizzie to be mad but…he really had other things on his mind.

Lizzie threw her hands up in exasperation. "I thought you liked being with me."

"Lizzie, I do like being with you! It's the only time I don't have to think--"

Lizzie recoiled. "You don't have to _think_ when you're with me?"

"You know what I mean--"

"No, I _don't_, Nigel! You never talk to me. You never tell me what you're thinking. Gosh, I guess it's because you're not. You don't even have to use your big bald brain when you're with me. Isn't that relaxing?"

"Lizzie, I--"

She wasn't even listening to Numbuh One's protests. Lizzie shook her head "I knew it. I knew it. _Why_ did you come out tonight? Why did you even come?"

Numbuh One considered this. "Because you wanted me to."

Lizzie stopped and whirled around, her eyes brimming with tears. "So _you_ didn't want to?"

For a moment, Numbuh One was stunned. How could that have been the wrong answer? He tried to think of a recovery. "Lizzie, I—I wanted you to be happy."

"Well, I'm not!" She shouted. "You're not even trying. It's like you don't even care. Well, I don't care either! I know my way home. Why don't you go back to your stupid treehouse and leave me alone!" Lizzie stalked down the pavement.

Numbuh One gaped, standing in her wake. How had that happened? What he'd meant to say was that being with Lizzie was so easy that he didn't have to think about it. All he had to do was smile at her and take her to see a movie every now and again and she doted on him. It was simple. Perhaps that wasn't the best reason to go out with a person but Numbuh One had enough stress and drama on the job. Especially in the past week. The Delightful Children From Down The Lane were behaving very strangely…they'd engaged them in three battles in the past seven days but every time, it'd been…too easy to get the delightful dorks on the run. Numbuh Five always got suspicious if missions were too easy. Maybe some of that unease was the cause of her recent moodiness. Numbuh One's thoughts returned to his relationship. Numbuh Five had always been skeptical of that too. Did she sense that things were "too easy" with Lizzie as well? Numbuh One glanced at the face of his watch before he used it activate his jet boots. It was getting late. He wondered if Numbuh Two had beaten him back to headquarters…

* * *

"Oh yeah, I win, oh yeah!" Numbuh Three sang as she bounced from foot to foot, mimicking her simian avatar in the Mega Ultra Fighters II arcade game. It was so much fun to trounce Wally. He'd go on and on about how his joystick was stiff and his keypad was sticky and how the game wasn't accepting his codes—just to make her feel better about beating him. Actually, Wally was a good player. She was just better. As he pouted and shouted "Crud!" at the screen, Numbuh Three grinned. "Wanna play again?"

"Aw, just put another quarter in! I'll win this time!"

"Sure you will!" Numbuh Three beamed at him. She pushed a coin into the slot and the gaming screen blared with bright color. A few seconds later, Wally's half of the screen went from dark to light and they both selected their players. Numbuh Three chose her reigning champion, Markane the Malaysian Magician. He was the cutest little monkey! He also had the coolest combination moves, like cartwheel kicks and skipping knuckle-breakers. She noticed that Numbuh Four had chosen Markane as well. Wally's monkey was wearing turquoise wristbands while hers was wearing red. The 16-bit referee began the match with a loud digital cry of "Challenge! Fight!" and Wally was already madly jamming his thumbs against the buttons and rocking the joystick back and forth in its cradle. Numbuh Three parried his punches for a moment, glancing over at Wally and the beads of sweat glistening on his nose. She smiled and took her hands off her controls.

Numbuh Three jerked his eyes away from the screen. "Numbuh Three, what are you doing? There's still like, a minute left in the match and I'm--" His mouth froze as his eyes caught the movement of Numbuh Three's hands. Coming down over his.

"Press A _and_ C," Numbuh Three said, pressing the buttons down over the fingers of Wally's left hand, "and move _diagonally_." Her right hand maneuvered his. "See? It's easy." Turquoise Markane flew across the screen, a blur of lightning-fast moves. "Got it?"

"Yup."

Wally squeaked. His voice sounded like Huggykins Jr. Numbuh Three giggled. There were only about 15 seconds left in the match and Red Markane had taken a lot of damage from the lightning kick so when the bell sounded, Wally was victorious. "Yay!" Numbuh Three sang. "Numbuh Four wins!" She began her victory dance.

Wally stared at her, his eyes wide. He was so funny sometimes.

"That's one of the codes from the book I got you. I can show you some more. Wanna play one more round?"

Wally blinked a few times. "No," he said, and his voice sounded weird. Kind of like he was catching a cold. Kind of like a grown-up's. "Why don't we just go back to the treehouse?"

"Okay!" Numbuh Three couldn't stop smiling. Numbuh Four had beaten her at Ultra Mega Fighters for the first time on his twelfth birthday. Happy Birthday, Wally.

* * *

"She's not here." There was a note tacked to the refrigerator with a beetle-shaped magnet. Numbuh Two grabbed it as he opened the refrigerator door, in search of salami. After peeling three pink circles of it from the deli paper, he closed the fridge and went into the common room with the note.

"Let me see that," said Numbuh One. The note was short. 'Numbuh Five went home. Be back later.'

"Maybe it's a fake." Numbuh Two chewed on a slice of salami. "Why would she just go home?"

Numbuh One could think of a reason but he didn't say it. "You're right, Numbuh Two. We should go get her. You never know what might happen with _Cree_ there. It might be a trap, waiting for Numbuh Five to spring it. She's probably not thinking straight after--" He clamped his mouth shut. Numbuh Two gave him a puzzled look. "Er, right. No time to waste!"

"Um, what about Numbuh Four and Numbuh Three?"

"I think we can handle Cree on our own, don't you?" Numbuh One pretended not to notice Numbuh Two's autonomic shudder. "Let's go!"

transmission interrupted


	5. No Gymnastics

Author's Notes: As I promised, here is this week's second chapter. I know Chad's a bit young to be dating Cree but look at Demi and Ashton! Anyway, I figured she's about a year older than him and that's not the biggest deal ever. What's more, it's dead funny. Well, I think so, at least. I hope you do too! Please read and review.

* * *

connection re-established

Numbuh Five slammed the door as she entered the house. The light in the kitchen was on but the rest of the house was dark. Except for the faint hum of the refrigerator, it was silent. In the center of the room there was a round-top wood table and in the center of that table, there was a large plate of palm-sized sugar cookies. Numbuh Five also noticed a folded note sticking out from under the plate. She grabbed the note.

'Abby and Cree', it read, 'Your mother had to fly out to Paris for a conference with the delegates and the reps and the laws...' Numbuh Five rolled her eyes and read on. 'I'm in the ER until seven. If you need me, page my beeper. Your lunches are in the fridge. Cree, don't be on the phone all night. Abby, mind your sister. No fighting! Love, Dad.'

Numbuh Five crumpled the note and took a cookie. She had hoped that for once, her mother would be around. Or even Dad. He was a doctor, after all. Maybe he could figure out what was wrong with her. If he was home, that is. Which he wasn't. But according to the note, Cree was. The quiet in the house was deceptive. Stealthily, Numbuh Five crept up the stairs. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"No, I miss _you_ more…no, _I _miss--Chad? Hold on a second. It's my bratty little sister." Cree sent Numbuh Five a spiky look. "What do you want?"

Numbuh Five smirked. "Well, Numbuh Five _doesn't_ want to keep you from telling your boyfriend how much you miss him." She leaned against the doorframe. "Go ahead. I'll wait."

Cree glowered, then picked up the phone from her lap. "I'll call you back, okay? Yeah, okay." Her face broke into a silly grin. "Uh huh? Uh huh. Mmmm-mwah!"

Numbuh Five gagged as she watcher her sister kiss the telephone and set it down on the receiver. Then Cree's eyes turned to her.

"What do you want?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be," Numbuh Five began, defiant. Cree narrowed her eyes. Numbuh Five averted her glare. "But there's nobody else I can talk to."

Eyes still narrowed, Cree beckoned her sister to come closer. "What about?"

Numbuh Five took a deep breath. "There's something wrong with me."

Cree smiled. "Oh, I know that. But what do _you_ mean?"

Numbuh Five swallowed. "You know how Dad says that if you lose a lot of blood, you'll die?"

Cree nodded.

"Well, I think I'm going to die."

For a moment, concern flashed across Cree's face. "You're not…wait a minute. Abby, are you…this blood…does it come from…down there?"

Too embarrassed to reply, Numbuh Five nodded.

"And does your stomach sometimes hurt and you have headaches and you feel all snarky?"

Numbuh Five nodded again.

Cree burst into laughter. "God, kids are _so_ stupid!"

Numbuh Five was instantly angry. "Aw, forget this! Forget Numbuh Five even said anything." She turned to stalk out of the room.

"No, wait!" Cree gasped through her laughter. "I'm sorry. Abby…you have your period."

Numbuh Five stopped. "What?"

Cree smirked. "Oh, our little Abigail is growing up! You're not a kid anymore, Abby."

"No!"

"Oh, come on. It's not the end of the world. It's just, like this thing that happens one week out of the month. It's how you become a woman."

A coldness seized Numbuh Five's heart. "No," she said, whispered, if only to calm and console herself.

"Abby, it's not that big a deal. It's not like getting your first bra." Cree patted Numbuh Five's shoulder. "It happens to everybody. Well, not boys, but…"

Numbuh Five noticed her sister's hand on her shoulder. Normally, they didn't touch each other, unless they were in combat. She looked up at Cree. "You too?"

"Huh?" Cree blinked. "Oh yeah. It happened when I was twelve too. That's why I left—that's why I stopped hanging out with my goofy, immature childhood friends."

"You mean, that's why you joined the adults?" Numbuh Five shrugged Cree's hand away and fixed her with a cold glare.

"No, that was after--" Cree stopped. "Whatever. If you ask me, you'd do better to ditch your stupid friends anyway."

"Numbuh Five's friends are _not_ stupid!"

Cree quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, okay, Numbuh Four ain't the brightest bulb but…"

"How are your little toddler-pals anyway? Out on another 'secret mission'?"

"Naw, not that I would tell you if they were. Numbuh Three went to the arcade with Numbuh Four for his birthday."

"For his birthday," Cree parroted with a smirk.

Numbuh Five glared before she continued. "And Numbuh One's with Numbuh Two on a date--"

"Together?" Cree grinned.

"Naw, it's—you can just wipe that smile off your face. Numbuh One's with Lizzie Divine, you know…"

"Yeah, poor kid."

Numbuh Five sent her sister another withering look. "Yeah, and Numbuh Two…he's going out with Numbuh 78, apparently."

"Hoagie P. Gilligan has a girlfriend? Unbelievable!" Cree chuckled. "Numbuh 78, huh? Guess Hoagie's hot for chocolate." She cackled. Numbuh Five was glaring so hard her eyes were starting to feel the strain. Cree flashed her sister a wicked smile. "Funny though. I always thought he had a thing for you."

Numbuh Five frowned. "Yeah right. Everybody, including you, knows that Numbuh Two had a crush on you."

"Yeah, but I always thought it was transference."

Numbuh Five's frown softened. She sighed. "You know, Numbuh Five thought so too."

It made sense. It would've been too weird for Numbuh Two to have a crush on his teammate so he'd transferred it to her sister. Okay, maybe it meant that Numbuh Five was a little conceited for thinking that way. Though she'd never admit it, Numbuh Five sometimes thought her sister was cool too. Even though Numbuh Five had never liked Numbuh Two _that_ way, imagining that he had a secret crush on her made her feel special somehow. But now, she knew that he didn't. And strangely enough, it felt like she'd lost something.

Cree noticed that her little sister was lost in her thoughts, so she touched her shoulder again. "Don't worry about Hoagie. There'll be someone else. Wait until you get to Middle School!" Cree ignored Numbuh Five's grimace. "And here's some big sister advice. When you have your period, never wear white. Don't do any handstands. And always have one of _these_." Cree reached under her bed and handed Numbuh Five a plastic packet.

Numbuh Five read the package. "What's this?"

"Just put one in your underwear whenever you go to the bathroom during your period. They're for the blood…they're like…like band-aids. For down there."

Numbuh Five raised her eyebrows but tucked the packet under her arm.

"Now, get out of my room!"

* * *

Meanwhile, a lens retracted from its perch on Cree's windowsill. Numbuh One and Numbuh Two were crouched, hidden in a bush on the side of Numbuh Five's house.

"Did you see what it said?" asked the leader.

"Yeah, but I think we're going to need the L.U.N.C.H.B.O.C.K.S. for this." Numbuh Two scratched his head. "Unless you know what PADS means."

transmission interrupted


	6. PADS

Author's Notes: I think I need to add an addendum to my disclaimer, so let's take it from the top.

1. I don't own any characters or 2x4 technologies. Those are property of Mr. Warburton and Curious Pictures.

2. If, while reading this story (or any story) you feel embarrassed or offended, please, stop reading. There's nothing I like less than upsetting my readers. Except maybe, being accused of plagiarism.

Okay! Done with that. Once again, thanks for the reviews! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

* * *

connection re-established

Numbuh Four and Numbuh Three arrived to find the treehouse empty.

"Numbuh One? Numbuh Five?" Numbuh Three shouted, peeking into various doorways. "Numbuh Two?"

"Looks like nobody's home," Numbuh Four said to the girl as she danced from door to door.

"That's strange. Where did everybody go?"

"Relax. They'd've signaled us if there was a mission, right?"

Numbuh Three frowned. "Maybe." She looked around the room again. "Oh, I know! Maybe they went to get some more ice cream."

Numbuh Four sent her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, maybe they did."

"Wanna try out that jump pack now?" Numbuh Three grinned.

"Uh, that's okay." Numbuh Four backed away as Numbuh Three's grin had taken on a slightly evil cast. There was a ding! that sounded almost ominous.

"Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Three jumped back from the elevator as Numbuh Five stepped out.

"Goodnight, y'all." Not stopping, she headed straight for her room.

"Now, wait a—Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Four yelled after her, only to be answered by the slam of her door. "Aw, I'm gonna—cruddy dictionary!" Numbuh Four brought his fist down hard on the surface of the table on which Numbuh Three had precariously placed the dictionary. The heavy book fell to the floor, scattering its contents across the room.

"What the—" Numbuh Four knelt and grabbed one of the foil-wrapped, pebble shaped things that had fallen and rolled near his foot.

"Candy!" Numbuh Three screamed. She began gathering them. "Ooh, look, Numbuh Four. Isn't this your favorite?"

Butterscotch. Premium, ultra-smooth Sugar Dairy butterscotch. It had been crammed inside the dictionary which, Numbuh Four now realized, had been hollowed. Sugar Dairy Butterscotch. It'd been impossible to get your hands on it since Stickybeard and his cruddy band of pirates had seized control of the dairy and looted it. Numbuh Four couldn't remember the last time he'd had a piece of Sugar Dairy butterscotch. No wait. He'd been six. It was just after he'd moved from Perth. On a wide playground, full of kids, he was an island. And then, a girl came over to him. "My dad always packs too much in my lunch bag," she'd said. "You want this piece of candy?"

"So _that's_ where she went that time," Numbuh Three said suddenly.

Numbuh Four looked at her, waited for her to continue.

With a thoughtful expression and a half-smile on her face, Numbuh Three dumped a handful of butterscotch into the shell of the dictionary. "Oh well. 'Night, Numbuh Four!" She flounced off to her room.

Numbuh Four gathered the last few pieces of candy, dropped them atop the pile and closed the book. Then, on impulse, he opened it again, grabbed one perfect piece and unwrapped it reverently. It was beautiful. It looked so creamy and good. He popped it into his mouth and suddenly felt warm and happy. A satisfied smile spread across Numbuh Four's face. Just then, Numbuh One and Numbuh Two entered the common room.

"Numbuh One, Numbuh Two! Where've you guys been?"

"Nowhere!" Numbuh Two blurted. "What's in your mouth?"

"Nothing!" Numbuh Four tried to say around the ball of butterscotch on his tongue. He swallowed it whole in one gulp and then, snapped the huge book shut and clutched it to his chest. "Yeah, I'm just gonna...get my stuff outta here and go to bed."

Numbuh One looked around and caught sight of Numbuh Four's presents, discarded and scattered around the room. "Right."

"All right then," said Numbuh Four, inching his way out of the room. "'Night."

Numbuh One and Numbuh Two exchanged a look. "Briefing room," said Numbuh One, and they headed to a room adjacent to Numbuh One's bedroom. As Numbuh Two set up the L.U.N.C.H.B.O.C.K.S., Numbuh One locked the door.

"It's too bad we couldn't get audio. It might take a while to figure this out." Numbuh Two frowned at the screen as alphanumeric symbols scrolled horizontally.

"Understood. Let me know when the results come up." Numbuh One paced around the room. Actually, he was glad to have something else to think about. Part of him was still trying to come up with the perfect thing to say to Lizzie. The thing that would make her forget that she was mad at him. The thing that would make her forgive him. But there was another part of him that forced him to consider other things. Like, why was he even trying? Like, would it really be that hard to get Lizzie on his sweet side again? Like, did he even want to? Numbuh One shunted those thoughts to the recesses of his mind for later perusal and instead, focused on Numbuh Five. She'd gone home to talk to Cree. Or had she been summoned? Or lured? Or blackmailed? A memory popped to the fore of his mind—that time the delightful children had blackmailed him into leaving the team with an embarrassing photograph. The team had really come through for him then but in the end, it was Numbuh Five's sneaky plan that got the job done. Was he going to have to return the favor now? She'd seemed angry; he could tell from what he and Numbuh Two had been able to see. She'd also seemed really, really sad. That was odd. And very unexpected.

"Uh, Numbuh One, you might want to have a look at this."

Numbuh One hadn't realized he'd stopped pacing and was staring at the door. He turned away and walked over to where Numbuh Two was printing out the results of his search.

"I did a search of the 2x4 technology database and got zip, so either it' not a weapon or it must be top-secret classified stuff."

"What about the L.U.N.C.H.B.O.C.K.S.?"

"Well..." Numbuh Two dragged the word out. "It could be one of three things." He glanced at his printout. "It could be Pre-Adolescent Destruction Sequence—"

"I think we can rule that out. Why would _Cree_ give Numbuh Five something like that?"

"Okay, then there's Professional Adult Defense System—"

"But would that be a professional system defense system _for_adults or a defense system _against_ professional adults?"

"You mean, like a means to take down the mayor? I don't think so." Numbuh Two shook his head.

"You're right, it's doubtful." Numbuh One agreed. "Again, why would Cree give either of those to Numbuh Five?" Numbuh One stroked his chin with his finger. "What's the third possibility?"

Numbuh Two looked at the printout again. He hesitated for a moment.

"Numbuh Two?"

"It's...Personal Automatic Decommissioning Suit. But she wouldn't...that's—that's like suicide! She wouldn't do that."

Numbuh One's mouth was set in a grim line. "We are not going to say anything about this. Don't tell anyone what we saw tonight."

"But Numbuh One, if Numbuh Five really—"

"I will talk to her. You're dismissed, Numbuh Two. Goodnight."

Numbuh Two looked at his leader as if he wanted to say something more but then, decided against it. He packed up the equipment, unlocked the door and left Numbuh One alone in the briefing room.

Numbuh One waited until he could no longer hear Numbuh Two's footsteps echoing off the walls of the treehouse. Then, he sat down at the table and, with his head in his hands, stared into the night.

transmission interrupted


	7. Becoming a Woman

Author's Notes: thanks for the reviews! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. It's been a while since the last update (and I'm going on vacation) so this one's a bit longer than usual. I hope you don't mind. It's a bit intense… tell me what you think! Happy holidays!

* * *

connection re-established

On the morning of the second day of her period, Numbuh Five woke up early, not quite relieved but resigned. She wasn't going to die. She wasn't going to have to leave the team. There was a _reason_ she was feeling so strangely. And she'd be over it in a less than a week. It was Sunday morning and usually on Sundays, the team ate French toast. Numbuh Five felt as if she hadn't eaten in days. Time to get up. She took one of the little plastic-wrapped packets from the package her sister had given her and tucked it into the pocket of her blue dressing gown. Then, she carefully hid the package. Numbuh Five yawned, stretched, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

Feeling refreshed and a bit less ill-tempered, Numbuh Five adjusted her hat as she strolled into the kitchen. She was glad that no one else was awake. Even though she didn't think she'd explode at anyone today, she didn't want them questioning her about yesterday's stoniness. She poured herself a glass of orange juice but when she set it on the table, she realized that she wasn't alone. "Numbuh One," she said. "'Mornin'."

He didn't greet her but instead sat down at the table. Numbuh Five slid him her glass of juice and went to pour herself another.

"So," she said, her back to him as she poured, "have fun on your date?"

If Numbuh One was surprised that she'd known where he'd gone last night, he didn't show it. "As a matter of fact," he answered, "I didn't."

Numbuh Five didn't quite know how to respond. Newly poured glass of orange juice in hand, she joined Numbuh One at the table. "What happened, did Lizzie throw a tantrum 'cause you wouldn't hold her hand?" He was giving her an odd look. Numbuh Five should have expected it, given the words they'd exchanged yesterday. She put her glass down. "Look Numbuh One, Numbuh Five is—"

"Do you think I should give up?"

Numbuh Five was shocked into silence. She was going to apologize but she had the feeling that she and Numbuh One wanted to have two different conversations. She yielded hers to his question. "Give up? On Lizzie?"

"Do you think it would be a sound decision for me to just give up? Lately, things haven't been the same. Something isn't right." Numbuh One took a sip of his juice. "Should I give up?"

Numbuh Five was confused. It was that matter-of-fact tone of his. That clipped, British precision. He could've been talking about his relationship or he could've been talking about radishes and it would've been the same. Funny, Numbuh Five had always thought that she was good at catching the meaning behind the leader's curt words. This morning, however, she had no clue.

"What would you do? Would you just give up?"

"Why ask Numbuh Five?" She'd had enough of his taciturnity.

"Because you know me better than anyone."

What was she supposed to say to that?

"I'd also like to think that I know you, Numbuh Five. I trust your judgment. So I want you to consider this. You've had good times and bad times. You don't really want to give up but at the same time, you can't think of anything else to do. You don't want anyone to be hurt, but you're confused and you can't think of a way to solve things without walking away. So what do you do, Numbuh Five? Do you walk away? Do you give up?"

Numbuh One was staring at Numbuh Five with such an intensity that she had to look away. The craving for the taste of French toast had left her mouth. It was dry. "Hold on a minute," she said, trying to laugh away the thread of nervousness that crept into her voice. "Are we talking about Lizzie here?"

"No. We're not." Numbuh One set his glass down and left the kitchen.

* * *

The sunlight streamed into Numbuh Two's hangar/workshop/bedroom, glinting off bits of circuitry and metallic spare parts; assaulting his eyes with its insistent brightness. The world was red behind Numbuh Two's eyelids but he coaxed them open and greeted the morning with a great big yawn. He'd had a disturbing dream last night. Well, it'd started out okay… It was a dream so _film noir_ that it'd played in black and white—he was on a case concerning a spiked shipment of lemon fizz. He was canvassing at Lime Rickey's joint when a mysterious lady sent him a drink and a tip-off—something was going down at the Lincoln house. So he went, ready to solve his case and catch his crook but when he got there, there was no lemon fizz. It was just Cree, handing Numbuh Five what looked like a suit jacket. In an instant he _knew_, knew it so much that he could feel it, that if Numbuh Five touched that jacket she'd be in grave danger. But he couldn't warn her. Cree slipped the jacket onto Numbuh Five's shoulders and suddenly, it began to shrink and squeeze and choke…something had woken him then. Maybe the sun. Numbuh Two rolled out of bed. It was just a dream, and as Sector V's resident gourmet, he had breakfast duty.

Numbuh Two ambled into the kitchen, rubbing the crust from the corners of his eyes. He slid his goggles back into place and the blurry image of Numbuh Five slid into focus. There was an empty glass on the table and Numbuh Five was staring at it, as if she was waiting for it to…do something.

"I think it only works with spoons, Numbuh Five."

There was an infinitesimal shudder in her shoulders. Numbuh Five reached out and grabbed the glass. She dropped it, and her own, into the sink. "Mornin'."

"Good morning," Numbuh Two said, as brightly as he could manage. He opened the refrigerator and began to transfer the ingredients he needed to the countertop. "Wanna…help me break the eggs?"

Numbuh Five shrugged, but she took an egg out of the carton.

"I guess everyone'll be up soon so we'd better get _crackin_'," Numbuh Two paused for effect, grinning. The smile quickly melted from his face. It was as if she hadn't even heard him. "Numbuh Five, are you all right?"

She tapped an egg against the edge of the counter and broke it over a bowl. "Numbuh Five _thought_ so."

Numbuh Two tapped another egg against the rim of the bowl He broke the shell one-handed and let the yolk drip into the bowl. "You're feeling better than yesterday, though, right?"

"Numbuh Five _was_."

Numbuh Two tossed the broken shell into the garbage can. "Well, French toast always makes me feel better. You can have the first slice. You can have the first _five_ slices if you want. Geez, I wonder why everyone's still asleep. _I'm_ up, and I got in way later than—" He clamped his mouth shut and quickly added a measure of milk to the eggs in the bowl. "Never mind, I mean I just…got in late."

"Numbuh 78 kept you out past nine o'clock? You got to be kidding."

"Yeah," Numbuh Two laughed nervously. "Just kidding."

A piercing wail split through the relative quiet in the kitchen. It was the code red alarm. Darn it. French toast would have to wait…

* * *

Numbuh 65.3's image popped up onto the large screen of the communications console. "Urgent dispatch from Global Command! The Delightful Children are on their way to the kindergarten playground—intelligence says they plan to destroy it."

"Not another one?" Numbuh Four yelled. "Those cruddy dorks just don't quit!"

"Until they're done," Numbuh One said, his face grim. "It's under control."

Numbuh 65.3 gave Numbuh One a quick nod then ended the transmission.

Numbuh One cleared his throat. "Kids next door…battle stations!"

The team trooped into the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H., weapons at the ready.

"We'll need some heavy fire power, Numbuh Two. They've probably got another robot doing their dirty work."

Numbuh Two nodded from his spot at the helm. "Roger that." Within minutes, they were approaching the playground where they could see the Delightfuls' latest weapon of mass destruction snapping the metal bars of the jungle gym like twigs.

The team had come prepared wearing jet-powered footwear. They disembarked while Numbuh Two held position, hovering over the playground.

"Well, if it isn't the Kids Next Door," said the Delightful Children From Down The Lane, in that creepy, perfect unison. "Have you come to help us with our…renovations?"

"No, we're here to kick your butts!" Numbuh Four charged forth, aiming his C.H.E.E.Z.O.O.K.A.. "Run along now, Delightful dorks! You don't wanna be late for Sunday School!"

"Oh, Wallabee, surely _you_ wouldn't presume to tell_ us_ about being late for school," the quintet intoned. Their robot paused in its destruction. "Looks like we'll have to give you a detention!"

"Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Three screamed as the robot flung a net. Numbuh Five swung down from the swings and grabbed Numbuh Four by his hood before the net could capture him.

"Sorry, suckers!" Numbuh Four blew a raspberry. "I don't stay after school."

The robot decided to ignore Numbuh Four and instead, swung its mallet fist at Numbuh Three. She screamed and dropped her T.H.U.M.P.E.R. as she ran.

"Numbuh Three!" the team yelled. The Delightful Children cackled as they watched their robot systematically crush, uproot, and dislodge every playground apparatus Numbuh Three ran to to take cover. Soon, the playground was leveled.

"Kids next door!" Numbuh One, now hoarse, called. "Retreat!"

Numbuh Four skidded to a halt and whirled around. "What?"

"That's an order, Numbuh Four! Retreat!"

Numbuh Four groaned. Retreat from the cruddy Delightful dorks? What was Numbuh One thinking? He began to back away from the playground with the rest of the team. But then, he noticed something odd. An eye dialogue passed between Numbuh One and Numbuh Five and in an instant, she'd flipped back onto the playground, right in the path of the robot. He was going to call out but then, the sun glinted off of something in her hand and he understood. Numbuh Five tossed the small glass ball under the foot of the robot and used her shoes to propel herself onto the limb of a nearby tree. The robot stepped, the glass crushed, and the robot exploded. Numbuh Four noticed a curious smirk on Numbuh One's face.

"Look what you've done! You've destroyed our robot." The Delightful Children folded their arms. "Oh well. Father will give us another." Seemingly out of nowhere, a conveyance appeared and the Delightfuls clamored into it. "See you soon, Kids Next _Dumb_. Oh, and Abigail," they paused, and the team all looked at Numbuh Five. 

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations on becoming a woman."

There was a dull thud as Numbuh Five hit the ground.

transmission interrupted


	8. Looking For A Fallman

Author's Notes: It's been forever since I've updated, I know… darn job! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this installment. Some questions get answered, some more get raised…please tell me what you think!

* * *

connection re-established

Numbuh Three used the edge of a tongue depressor to part Numbuh Five's hair so that she could apply an antiseptic ointment to the wounds on her scalp. Two scraped elbows and a nasty bump on the head—Numbuh One'd said something about a cushion, or a cussion, or something. One of those bad things that happened when a person hit their head. He wanted to know when Numbuh Five woke up. Numbuh Three screwed the top onto the jar of ointment. Since they'd brought her to med-lab nearly an hour ago, Numbuh Five hadn't stirred. She was breathing okay. Numbuh Three made sure to watch the rise and fall of her shoulders. And ooh, she looked so pretty with her hair down! A bit of Rainbow Monkey Berry Lip Balm and…no, no, now was not the time for a makeover, Numbuh Three scolded herself. She was just trying not to think of sad things. Like what would happen if Numbuh Five didn't wake up soon.

"Numbuh Five," she whispered, pushing away a crinkly lock of hair that had fallen across Numbuh Five's eye, "please wake up. I only really know first aid. I don't know what to do…and if you don't wake up, I'll have to call 911 and Numbuh One'll get really mad…" she paused, hoping to see indignance, consciousness, _something_ on Numbuh Five's face. She looked peaceful. And eerily still. "There's…there was something I was going to ask you about and I was going to make you promise not to tell but you can't promise if you're not awake so you better wake up."

"All right," came Numbuh Five's voice, gruff and thready. "I promise. Lay it on me."

"Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Three squealed and hugged her friend's prone body. "Are you okay?"

"Why is that everybody's favorite question?" Numbuh Five pushed up with her palms, wincing, and turned herself over. "What's this secret?"

"Oh, it's nothing. No big deal. Let me go get Numbuh One and tell him you're okay."

"Wait." Numbuh Five grabbed her arm before she could hop up from the bed. "You don't have to. Numbuh Five's fine."

"But he said to make sure to get him as soon as you woke up."

"Yeah, but you know Numbuh One. He probably wanted to make sure I filled out a req form for the M.A.R.B.L.E. he gave me."

"I don't know, he seemed really worried and grumbly…"

"All right, all right." Numbuh Five sighed. "Could it wait a minute, though? I, uh, Numbuh Five's gotta take a trip to the little girl's room for a sec."

"Oh yeah. There's something…something else I was going to ask you."

"Yeah?"

Numbuh Three looked at her friend's face. "You…you got your period, didn't you?"

Numbuh Five froze. "How did you…how can…can you _tell_?

Numbuh Three shook her head emphatically. "No, no. It's just, my mom already told me about the monthlies and that's what she called it, 'becoming a woman.' When the Delightful Children from Down the Lane yelled that at you, I remembered, and I remembered the other night, and…I figured it out." She looked sheepish.

Numbuh Five was silent for a long moment. "No one can know," she said quietly. "If anybody else figures it out…becoming a woman…that's worse than becoming a teenager, they'll—"

"No, it's not the same thing! My mom said it's how your body matures and girls mature sooner than boys do, but it doesn't make _you_ any different. You're still a kid. You're still one of us."

Numbuh Five was briefly hit by a pang of sadness. Why hadn't _her_ mother told her about any of this? She shook her head. "You don't…you're not…"

"No. Not yet." Numbuh Three could read her friend's sad eyes but she didn't know what to say. "My mom said even girls younger than 11 have had it happen, though, and I'm sure it'll happen to me some time and—"

"Please—just don't say anything about it. Okay?"

"Okay." She watched Numbuh Five get up and slowly move toward the door. "No wait. There's one more thing I want to say about it."

She turned around. "What?"

"How come…how come the Delightful Children from Down the Lane knew about it before you told me?"

Numbuh Five stared blankly for a moment. She hadn't told _anyone_…all of a sudden, her head was pounding again. She practically kicked the door open as she stormed out of the med-lab.

* * *

"Well, that sucked." Numbuh Four plopped down onto the couch, frowning. "What a bunch of jerks. If I didn't know any better I'd think they wanted us to destroy their dumb robot, but that's too dumb even for those Delightful dorks. Right, Numbuh One?"

"I think we might have to take her to the hospital." Numbuh One was pacing.

"The cruddy hos—? Wait, you're kidding right?" Numbuh Four jumped up. "I mean, you _do_ remember what happened the last time we went there right?" He turned to Numbuh Two. "Did he hit his head too, and I just didn't see it?"

"Look, this is _serious_," Numbuh One snapped, his voice rising suddenly. He cleared his throat and he continued, "so unfortunately, we may not have a choice."

"It was just an accident!"

"Was it?" Numbuh Two, who had been strangely quiet, was sitting on the arm of the couch.

Numbuh Four whirled to face Numbuh Two. "You think those cruddy dorks _meant_ for her to fall?"

"Maybe _they_ didn't." Numbuh Two cast a pointed glance at the leader.

"But they _said_ something!" He seized the idea, eager to blame the Delightful Children for something. "What was it they said? 'Congratulations on become a foreman? What's a foreman? What kind of cruddiness is—"

"Whatever it was, it's not our priority right now."

"Maybe it was _fallman_! 'Congratulations on becoming a fallman!' Or, 'Congratulations on becoming a fall, man!' Yeah! Those cruddy jerks! But why would they call Numbuh Five a man—"

"Numbuh Four!" Numbuh One shouted, just as Numbuh Two muttered "Give it a rest." He looked back and forth between the two of them. Numbuh Two was cynical and Numbuh One was agitated. Something wasn't right.

There was a loud bang of wood against wood and everyone's eyes shot to the med-lab door. Numbuh Five was charging toward the common room with that look on her face that Numbuh Three sometimes got, the flaming eyes, as Numbuh Four had come to think of it. That _should_ have told him something but he was just happy to see her up. "Numbuh Five! Are you…hey, where are you going?"

"To my house." She didn't stop.

transmission interrupted


End file.
